Duress
by DiscoUnicorn
Summary: McCoy and Uhura are stuck together during an assignment.


I have no stock in anything related to Star Trek.

The thick scent of something vaguely familiar invaded his olfactory sensors. The perpetrator, or suspected perpetrator, sat on the ground several feet away dressed in obscenely short Starfleet issued pants and a matching tank top. Dark nimble hands lifted thick black hair from a beautifully long neck. Eyes that he would have called black had he not been close enough to her on occasion to know that they were brown, turned to him dancing with merriment. The gym shoes she wore were still their bright white color as she stood and rubbed her hands on her shirt. Those eyes searched his face for several moments before she moved beyond him.

"You do realize that you probably led Kirk directly to our camp?" She picked up her bag and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail at the top of her head. The slight annoyance on her face was a sign that the heat and intensity of the assignment were starting to get to her. She turned from him and began to walk quickly.

"Hold on! Why the hell would you assume I'm helping Jim?" McCoy nearly barked the question as he tried to keep up with her. His hand clamped down on the hot skin of her brown arm.

She stopped abruptly, looking down at his hand with a glare of annoyance. "You aren't purposely helping him." She sighed and began to walk again.

Taking that damn survival class was the worst decision he had ever made; not only was he in a class with a bunch of first years, but the only people in the third year with him were Jim, Uhura, and a kid named Murphy. Sadly, Jim had gotten paired with a first year. The idiot over the class had paired him with Uhura. Supposedly, she had a lot of experience in hiking and camping. He watched her form ahead of him with narrowed eyes. To be honest, she had yet to lead him astray. She disappeared over what he assumed was a hill.

"Could you stop staring at my ass and come look at these berries?" The smile could be heard in her voice.

He rolled his eyes and sprinted up the hill. His foot caught in a stray vine that caused him to lurch forward. He heard the tell-tale snap of his fibula before he slammed into Uhura. His arms wrapped around her tightly as they began to roll down the hill. The look on her face turned from horror to one of pure amusement. They landed with her on top of him. She pressed her face into his chest and continued to laugh. Although he was in excruciating pain, he could not deny himself the pleasure of moving his hand to her soft hair. It rested at the back of her head gently. He held his breath when her brown eyes looked at him with amusement and adoration. She leaned forward and pressed their lips together. He rose and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth. She moved so that her hand moved over the dirty blue t-shirt he wore. His head dropped back against the ground as her fingers trailed lower.

"I take this to mean you're no longer angry with me."

A sharp pain erupted in his foot as she stood. She glared down at him and nudged his foot again. Her eyes were as round as saucers when she saw the look of utter agony on his face. A smile stretched her beautifully puffy lips. She crossed her arms over her chest. "We still have a way to go. Get up." She turned and stomped ahead of him. When she did not hear any movement, she turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Move!" There was no way he was going to ruin her grade.

He struggled to sit up and turn to her. "Hey, hardass, my foot is broken." He tried to stand with the help of the tree. He smothered a smile as a look of concern came over her but disappeared just as quickly. She wrapped her arm around his waist and began to lead him to a large rock a few feet away. He sat with a gruff. After carefully following his instructions to remove his shock and shoe, she began pacing. McCoy felt like he was back in a hospital watching some guy that expected news on his unborn child and wife. He kicked the comparison away with a sigh. "It's not like I asked Commander Wilkes to put me with you." He lied. He sighed when she did not respond. "I need you to look at it and make sure it's broken."

She gave him a "you're annoying" look as she squatted and stared at his ankle. She ran a finger over the bruised skin. "It's broken." She touched him on the leg before she picked up her bag and disappeared.

It was nearly dark when she returned covered in sweat with her black hair plastered against her forehead. The back of her hand slammed into his cheek as she tried to wake him. He sat up angrily. Her laughter caused his pants to become uncomfortable in the front. "I finished the assignment, but I had to come back for you. I missed you." She wrapped her arms around him in an awkward way; this led to his face being buried in her chest. She placed a kiss on the top of his head and held his hand in hers. With a smirk, she yanked him to his feet. He howled in pain.

"I told you my foot is broken. You're such a damn sadist." He collapsed on the rock with heavy breathing.

Uhura crossed her arms over chest. "Damn it, McCoy, I'm a xenolinguist not a doctor."

The glare he aimed towards her was cut short when she collapsed on his lap in a fit of laughter. The pain in his ankle seemed to melt away when she dug her fingers into his hair and yanked him towards her where she proceeded to cover his mouth with hers. His hand snaked up her shirt. "So, you're not angry anymore."

"Just shut up and let me make you feel better."


End file.
